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School Start Times for 2018-19

Hello VUSD Families,

As you probably remember, VUSD has been evaluating our school start times with the intent to create optimal learning environments for our students. Significant research shows that the circadian rhythm (or sleep cycle) for humans changes during the adolescent years. While young children typically are naturally wide awake early in the morning, teens biologically struggle with waking early, regardless of the time they go to sleep. Research shows that aligning school start times to better fit students' biological rhythms results in improved student performance and success.

VUSD has been evaluating school start times for over two years. This evaluation included:

reviewing extensive research

recommendations from health organizations like the National Sleep Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, and the American Academy of Pediatrics

school district transportation

cost analysis

feedback from principals

polls for students, parents and teachers

The VUSD Board of Trustees have taken all of these into careful consideration and have voted to adjust school start times for the 2018-19 school year. In the year to come, we will work with VUSD staff, City Coach, athletics, Vacaville Police and Fire and other community organizations in preparation of these new times. We understand that this positive change for student learning requires some adjustments for our families and community partners. We appreciate yourwillingness to work with us in fitting our educational system to meet students' needs.